A CRAZY YEAR
"The derby will be the spring that pushes Inter: we'll play it as if it is the game of the season."
"We would fine ourselves if we lose against Parma."
INTER 2012: THE SPRINGBOARD IS THE DERBY
"We'll beat Milan and be back in the game. Doing badly against Parma? We would fine ourselves."
"It's better than one from the transfer market that can make a difference rather than three that don't change our lives."
Milan - Pazzini, you slept last night?
"I did just enough. But I'm prepared for the more difficult days ahead."
Well, you have learned those difficult days with Inter no?
"Come on, I'm talking about my son..."
Can you explain how you played that game having just learned that your first child was born?
"So I was in the back right corner of the bus just like always. And as I was going to the stadium for Inter-Lecce, my phone beeped and it was a text message from my mother-in-law: 'He's born.' I was like damn and there was no other way to say it. I was sitting next to Forlan but he had a headphone on so he couldn't hear it. I looked at the picture of Tommasso at the San Siro and then in the dressing room I told everyone."
Yes, okay then, but how did you manage to forget about it for two hours?
"I said to myself: 'I'm here now so let's enjoy being on the field. I just want to score a goal to dedicate it to my son.' Then I am very slow in terms of taking shower but that was the quickest shower that I have ever taken in my career."
A goal and victory: that was the end of the season for you in the black and blue. Your rating for 2011?
"Six and a half which is the average of the 8 in the second half of last season and the 5 for our bad start of this season. Although in December we were well beyond sufficiency."
Inter's rating is higher than yours?
"Perhaps so. I had moments where I lost clarity and brilliance but I have experienced it before: last season, I had zero goals in the first eight matches. Anyway, I could have had six more goals had it not been for the woodwork against Juve, Cagliari and Lecce."
Do you miss that Inter that you rated an eight?
"I do not feel nostalgic for something that can certainly happen again. I think this team is feeling good again as it now has the winning atmosphere back."
What was the secret?
"The team has an extraordinary knowledge of its own strength. The team has been staying calm and winning games."
At one point, there was none of that?
"I thought that perhaps the Italian Super Cup could be a spring that pushes us but instead it was the first link in a negative chain."
Gasperini was a blunder, you didn't really love him right?
"I was fine mentally, I scored goals and I thought I could have had more playing time. But he really made me angry only once against Novara. He made it clear that I would play but there were only Castaignos, Milito and Forlan on the list."
Since Ranieri's arrival, however, Pazzini was written on that list 12 out of 13 times.
"Ranieri has great experience. He knows how to run a group as he always gives us peace of mind. And I'm not saying this because I've been playing a lot."
You said that you had forgotten to score in those 50 days without a goal. You were frustrated in the area?
"The problem was not about scoring, but it was because I did not have enough chances. Two, three, four games without being able to approach the goal."
But that dark period is now behind?
"I have the good feelings back. Maicon and Forlan are back. Even Lucio and I have seen the naughtiness back in our team after playing badly and suffering for a period of time."
Playing badly in the next two games and win them all by 1-0?
"With 30 points, I would say yes to day. But our real goal is to play well and win."
How did you turn things around in December?
We have our self-esteem back. And as I said it before: 'The last four games of the year will tell us who we really are.'"
And what game can you say the same thing in this new year?
"I would say the derby. And for that, we will play it as the game of the year."
Five days before Parma and then Milan, is it too little after the holidays?
"Everyone has his own personal work program and these upcoming games would be a great test to see if we completed our program in a positive way. Anway, we have taken this important decision: if we don't do well against Parma, it would be a slap in the face."
What was your game of 2011?
"My first with Inter, the 3-2 victory against Palermo and I enjoyed it like a madman. My teammates were going back to the dressing room down 0-2 and only said: 'Now let's go back out there and win.' And at the end, when we came back after the game we said: 'We are Martians.'"
Between September and December, you can say that the Martians were back on earth?
"When things go wrong, you will have some bad thoughts. I went looking around every day and I never saw the fear of losing on the faces of people."
Your goal of the year?
"I have two. One in Italy and Slovenia which gave us the certainty of the European Championship and the second was the 2-2 in Inter-Palermo."
On from Maicon's crosses: do you miss him more or Sneijder?
"Maic, Maic. I told him every morning during the days when I was out due to injury: 'When do you come back? I feel lonely without your crosses.' Wes is the most crucial player for the team but Maicon is the perfect player for me."
Pazzini-Milito: can you co-exist and play together?
"I have always had faith in this duo because Diego is one that moves a lot and has great football intelligence."
What about the other Diego, Forlan?
"He's one that has experienced many big games and every easy to play with him. He is a second striker and can play as a trequartista, the ideal link between the central midfield and the attack."
Thoughts on Champions League draw?
"It is not a favorable draw as it could go a lot worse but it could also be a little bit better. Marseille have had its ups and downs but the ups part is very dangerous."
People say that finishing third and securing Champions League for next year would be a little like winning the Scudetto for Inter this season.
"That would have been right two and a half months ago. But third place is not celebrated by Inter in the last seven years."
So?
"So we stopped talking about the Scudetto. Talking about it is unnecessary and not needed. What needed is right now to win as much as possible."
Maybe with some reinforcement from the transfer market?
"I don't have any preference. But it is better with only one player that can make a difference, rather than three that do not change our lives."
Can you score the same amount of goals in 2012 as you did in 2011?
"19 goals between Inter and Italy are not little. But honestly, I hope to score a few more."
About the national team: your rating for the 2011 Azzurri?
"At least a 8.5. A bravo Prandelli has brought new enthusiasm, football ideas and created a great group that knows how to make a difference with the many champions it already has."
And that is after the misunderstandings at Fiorentina.
"I went to Sampdoria and he greeted me with something like this: 'Perhaps we did not find each other at the right time.' Now, perhaps this is the right time as I am now more mature and have a few goals behind me."
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